Thomas Veil
Nov 17, 2004, 12:02 PM
We've got one of those cheesy "Action News" stations in our town. You know: hyped-up promos, screaming graphics, sensational stories....
But they've never sunk to this level (http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/entertainment/1100687727159092.xml) before:
Channel 19 said it was about art. But viewers could be forgiven for thinking it was about seeing a naked news honey on television.
Anchor/reporter Sharon Reed appeared seminude and nude although the camera caught her from afar and from the rear in a heavily promoted story on WOIO Channel 19's 11 p.m. newscast Monday. Reed participated in Spencer Tunick's nude photo installation in downtown Cleveland in June, and narrated a first-person story.
Yes, it was a sweeps month stunt, news director Steve Doerr acknowledged. It paid off in a big way. Glimpses of Reed taking off her bra drew in the highest audience for the 11 p.m. newscast in the station's history. November is one of the "sweeps" months when audiences are measured to set advertising rates.
Reed was shown from the waist up wearing a bra, which she took off (though not much of her breasts were visible). Later, she walked away from the camera, fully nude. Other participants in the installation, which created images from masses of nude bodies, were also shown.
Audience advisories aired before the piece, and in his introduction, anchor David Wittman warned, "This is a true account no blurred images this time!"
The idea came from general manager Bill Applegate's desire to cover the Tunick event in a different way, Doerr said.
Reed said she considered it an important story. "I'm my own person. I don't do anything I don't want to do for any job, or anything," she said.
*Sigh* I know local news has gone "happy", and that some are downright tabloid, but for God's sake, then, why don't they just stop presenting themselves as news? Edward R. Murrow is probably spinning in his crypt at the thought that these people classify themselves in the same business that he was in.
But they've never sunk to this level (http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/entertainment/1100687727159092.xml) before:
Channel 19 said it was about art. But viewers could be forgiven for thinking it was about seeing a naked news honey on television.
Anchor/reporter Sharon Reed appeared seminude and nude although the camera caught her from afar and from the rear in a heavily promoted story on WOIO Channel 19's 11 p.m. newscast Monday. Reed participated in Spencer Tunick's nude photo installation in downtown Cleveland in June, and narrated a first-person story.
Yes, it was a sweeps month stunt, news director Steve Doerr acknowledged. It paid off in a big way. Glimpses of Reed taking off her bra drew in the highest audience for the 11 p.m. newscast in the station's history. November is one of the "sweeps" months when audiences are measured to set advertising rates.
Reed was shown from the waist up wearing a bra, which she took off (though not much of her breasts were visible). Later, she walked away from the camera, fully nude. Other participants in the installation, which created images from masses of nude bodies, were also shown.
Audience advisories aired before the piece, and in his introduction, anchor David Wittman warned, "This is a true account no blurred images this time!"
The idea came from general manager Bill Applegate's desire to cover the Tunick event in a different way, Doerr said.
Reed said she considered it an important story. "I'm my own person. I don't do anything I don't want to do for any job, or anything," she said.
*Sigh* I know local news has gone "happy", and that some are downright tabloid, but for God's sake, then, why don't they just stop presenting themselves as news? Edward R. Murrow is probably spinning in his crypt at the thought that these people classify themselves in the same business that he was in.
